OVERVIEW

The MIFT R&D problem is to customize the feedback from training exercises
by exploiting knowledge about the training scenario, training objectives,
and specific student/teacher needs. We plan to achieve this by inserting
intelligent mediators into the information flow from observations collected
during training exercises to the display and user interface functionality.
Knowledge about training objectives, scenerios, and tasks is maintained in
the mediators. A technical constraint is that domain experts must be able
to extend mediators by adding domain-specific knowledge that supports
additional aggregations, abstractions, and views of the results of training
exercises.

Here is a description and a
demonstration of MIFT applied to simulation-based military
training. MIFT's mediators are
intended to integrate with existing military training exercise management
tools and dramatically reduce the cost of developing and maintaining
separate feedback and evaluation tools for every training simulator and
every set of customer needs.

APPROACH

The "MIFT Architecture" is designed
as a set of independently reusable components which interact with each
through standardized KIF/KQML interfaces.

The MIFT "Technical Approach" is
intended to integrate with other exercise
management software and achieve two key application goals for exercice
feedback software:

1. Since students, teachers, and exercise evaluators seldom have much
time to learn to use exercise feedback and analysis software, the
software must be easy to use and must use domain-specific exercise
concepts and terminology already familar to these customers.

2. Domain experts must be able to extend feedback software and tailor
it to
domain-specific and local needs. Professional programmers should
seldom be required when extending the feedback analyses, modifying
them for additonal consumers, and transferring them for use with
additional exercises.